Libertarian Senate Candidate's Petition Signatures Under Scrutiny

The Republican Party of Kentucky is raising questions about signatures submitted by Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate David Patterson.

State GOP chair Steve Robertson told the Lexington Herald-Leader that his group found “clearly fictitious and fabricated names” on the candidacy petition, including one “Ben Dover” with an obscene phrase listed for the address, and is seeking a review of the signatures.

Patterson tells WUKY there’s no way such an entry made it past screeners.

"As a matter of fact, I recall that one. And no, that's not one of the ones we counted as a legitimate signature. It was clearly not one," he says.

But Kelsey Cooper, a spokesperson for the state GOP, says the name was included on a list sent to county clerks. She argues the review isn’t about politics.

"It's really important to the Republican Party of Kentucky to maintain the integrity of the ballot and anyone who achieves access to the ballot illegally regardless of affiliation will receive this challenge," she says.

Candidates must file at least 5,000 valid signatures to get on the ballot and Patterson puts the number of verified names on his petition at over 5,700.

The review will have to be completed quickly before the state begins printing ballot for the November election.